War Room

When word spread that longtime Seattle club masterminds Marcus Lalario (Stuck Under the Needle/Yo Son!) and Brian Rauschenbach (Graylife) were set to open the War Room this past March, there wasn't a pair of dancing shoes in the entire city that didn't get spit-shined and laced up. Ultrastylish and ultrasmart, the War Room quickly became the "It" club; Monday nights feature regular appearances by break-dancers Circle of Fire, on Thursdays there are live rock bands, and Saturdays, it's hip-hop the way hip-hop was always meant to be at Yo Son! With two rooms for dancing and mingling plus a spacious roof deck for surveying serious scenes—and a tagline professing that "Peace Is Our Profession"—the War Room couldn't be more vital and au courant. 722 E. Pike St., 206-328-7666, www.thewarroomseattle.com.